Korra
by MuchTooOld
Summary: Korra enters the Avatar State after she and her gang are attacked by Equalists.  Mako and Bolin manage to get her back to the Island after calming her down and now wait for her recovery
1. Chapter 1

This was bad. They'd been in tight spots before. But this was by far the worst. Mako looked over at his brother and where he assumed Korra was fighting. The Equalists had surprised them. And he thought they were safe for the day.

He forgot how much they hated him and his brother. Not only were they benders, but they were friends with the much-hated Avatar. Dealing with them would be a blow to Korra. He beat back the Equalists that surrounded him and tried to quell a growing rage. He wouldn't let anyone use him to hurt his friend.

He tried to get over to where she was. Bolin was doing the same. If they could all just get together, they'd be fine. They fought best together.

The Equalists seemed to know this. The first thing they did when they caught them was break them apart. And now their goal was to keep them apart. He heard Korra cry out in pain.

"KORRA!" Bolin screeched before being electrocuted himself. Mako cringed. The two people he cared most about were being hurt. And he couldn't save them like he wanted to. It made him so mad.

He was so focused on his failings that he let down his guard for a second, and that was all the Equalists needed. The closest near him thrust his rod forward and Mako felt an agonizing pain as he was electrocuted. He didn't hear his scream, but he felt it tear out of him.

There was a louder moan though. Naga… She was in trouble. Mako tried to clear his thoughts. Korra would be inconsolable if Naga were hurt. He had to get over to that stupid polar bear-dog before anything bad happened.

He tried to move, but he couldn't. He was hurting so badly. He turned to his stomach and began to crawl towards the general direction of Korra's pet. He was constantly expecting someone to hit him or stab him or electrocute him or something… But nothing was coming. He was slowly regaining his strength and even had enough to turn his head to see why he wasn't being bombarded with attacks.

None of them were looking at him. They were standing and seemed to be prepared for some sort of attack. Mako followed their line of site and saw there was a ring of knocked out Equalists lying around Korra. He wasn't surprised to see her finally fight her way out. She was Korra after all.

Except this wasn't exactly Korra. There was something different about her. And it wasn't a happy difference. It was terrifying. She slowly scanned their enemies and as she did he got a look at her eyes.

They weren't their normal pretty blue. They were glowing white-blue disks. He had heard rumors that the Avatar could become something… more, but he hadn't believed them. But now he was seeing proof.

Bolin was over by his side. When had gotten there, he didn't know. But his brother seemed less hurt than he did. Bolin slipped an arm under him and hoisted him to his feet. Supporting him he started to inch over to where an injured Naga lay. "We've got to help her!" he shouted.

They heard a huge rushing sound and slowly turned around to where Korra was standing. The water from the harbor was bearing down in cascades on the Equalists and they were scrambling out of the way to avoid being swept out to sea. He and his brother stood in awe. They had never seen bending on this scale before. They were shaken out of their stupor when they heard a groan waft towards them and they remembered the injured Naga.

They limped over to where she lay and Bolin started to calm her down. He was good with animals. Mako unsteadily stood on his feet. He couldn't stop staring at this new Korra.

For the first time that night, he was glad to be outside the city. If they were any closer he could barely imagine what damage Korra would be causing. As it was, the damage to the landscape was devastating.

The Equalists were running from her now, pulling injured comrades behind as they fled her power. Soon they were nothing more than small specks in the distance.

Mako took a shaky step forward. Korra hadn't calmed down. She was still scary. He had to get her to calm down before she hurt someone innocent or worse, herself. He had never really gotten used to seeing the bruises and cuts that she got from fighting with him and his brother. The thought that she could really hurt herself more was terrifying.

Bolin was urging him to hurry why he struggled to keep Naga from hurting too badly. Mako didn't need any encouragement, but he was glad that his brother was there, watching his back.

It seemed to take eons to reach Korra. She didn't look his direction and the aura of power didn't dissipate as he approached. He almost turned back, but the thought of her and Bolin laughing and her teasing him and her laugh kept him going. He had to help her.

When he reached her he tentatively reached out to touch her. She didn't react to the contact. He used her arm to support himself as he got nearer to her and slowly pulled her to him.

"Hey," he whispered. "Naga's fine." He pulled her into a hug. At another time he would probably be panicking at being this close to her. He didn't get close to people, let alone girls, let alone beautiful girls that could literally crush him. But this was Korra, and she needed him. "Hey…" he said and rubbed her back. He had a vague memory of his mother doing this for him when he was small and sick. It had always made him feel better, maybe…

She looked at him as her eyes faded back to their deep blue. She slumped in her arms and he collapsed under the strain. He kept her from hitting the ground though. She groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," she muttered petulantly before slipping back to unconsciousness. She was hurt from the attack. To be honest, she looked as bad as Mako felt. He turned to yell at his brother to help him, but his brother and once again snuck up behind him. Bolin bent down and helped him put Korra on Naga's back. Naga wasn't that badly hurt after all.

She whimpered and knelt down. They brothers stared at each other and it took them a moment to realize she wanted them to come with. They doubted she could carry them all. They were about to refuse when Naga growled. Bolin looked over at him and shrugged and they hesitantly climbed on her back.

Mako was supporting Korra and Bolin was trying to find some room to fit behind them. They were pleasantly surprised that she easily could walk with the three of them. They were less pleasantly surprised when she jumped into the harbor and began to swim to Airbending Island, soaking them all to the bone.

Mako steadied Korra as they landed. She almost slipped into the water. "Whoa, there," he muttered more to himself than her. He held her close to him as Naga paddled her way to the Island. He didn't know she was awake until she weakly slapped him. "Put me down," she demanded. Mako didn't know whether to do as she said or not.

Luckily for him, Bolin answered for him, "Don't you dare! Korra, you're hurt."

She slumped forward again. "I'm fine," she declared.

"No you're not," the brothers said in sync.

Korra was about to protest again when a spasm racked her body. Mako held her tightly as Naga furiously swam towards the Island. "Just hang in there, okay?" he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

When they were kids, Air Temple Island had been this sacred place where THE Airbender lived. It was where all the air nomad acolytes gathered and lived. It was a place that Mako had often dreamed about getting to, because there he and his brother would be safe. But they had never made it over.

And then they got into the Pro-Bending tournaments. And they were good. He and Bolin, the Fabulous Bending Brothers. The Island slowly left his thoughts and it was only occasionally that he would look out of the window and remember the dreams he had when he was young. The place still held an aspect of mystery and a certain aura of holiness around it, but he had other things to focus on. Like winning and getting his brother out of poverty.

Then Korra came, and he started thinking about the Island again. Strong, loud, unsubtle, funny, happy, optimistic Korra. Now the Island wasn't the place where Tenzin, the Airbender lived, it was the place where the Avatar trained. And even if Korra wasn't exactly the embodiment of the peacefulness he associated with Airbenders, the Island was still this far off place of mystery and holiness.

So his shock in being greeted by three energetic children bouncing around, pelting them with questions and alerting the compound to the fact Korra was hurt while a pregnant woman came running out to see what had happened with the Airbending master himself jogging by her side while being followed by what looked like a castle guard was understandable. He and Bolin had barely managed to get Korra off of Naga's back before she was carted off by the White Lotus guard. Mako held onto her hand until she was ripped away and taken somewhere inside the complex.

Bolin and he looked at each other with equal looks of exasperation and confusion. Everything since they were attacked had happened so quickly, they had barely had time to assess their emotions.

They were about to get even less time. Master Tenzin came over to them. "What happened?" he barked in the sternest voice they had ever heard. They could barely hear him though over the clamor of the children as they hurled questions at them. The pregnant woman, whom they could only assume was Tenzin's wife, Peema looked torn about waiting to hear the news and going after Korra herself. Korra had told them that she kind of considered the Airbending family to be an extension of her family; apparently they felt the same way about her.

Bolin stood up to try and began to talk, but then collapsed into a wheezing heap. Mako's eyes widened. Was he hurt more than he realized? Did he allow his brother to be hurt because he was concerned with Korra? If he had had time to look behind him, he would've seen that Bolin was fine, he had just been hit in the stomach by Naga's tail, but he didn't. With the thoughts of his brother running through his head, he collapsed into unconsciousness himself.

He woke up to find himself in a small clean room that smelled of incense. There was a young woman hovering over his brother. Tenzin looked over and saw his brother sitting up and chatting pleasantly as she held water over his heart and began to heal his wounds. At least his brother was smiling.

Mako groaned as he tried to sit up. Suddenly the woman was over him. She shoved him back down, causing his body to spasm temporarily. "You're not better yet. Lie back down," she ordered. Mako meekly complied as she placed her hands on him and started healing him. For someone so young, she had quite the aura of authority around her.

Soon she left and Mako again tried to sit up. His brother was there to help him. Bolin hefted him up to a sitting position and then sat down beside him. He helped him drink some of the water the Healer had left for him. For a while they sat together in silence as Mako tried to sort out his thoughts.

Bolin was okay. He looked better than Mako felt at least. There was Pabu, somehow Bolin's pet had managed to cross the bay and come to his master. Mako was in the complex on the Island. But he couldn't remember why.

"They told me that Korra will probably be okay, but she's not up yet," Bolin whispered. The events from the night before hit him like a boulder. He would've stood up right then and there to go and find her, but he physically couldn't.

"How long… have I been out," he muttered out.

"Not that long," he casually replied. Pabu came clambering over to him and curled around his neck. "About a day, but the Healers said that that was normal considering how badly you were beat up."

Mako shook his head. He had never slept longer than eight hours in his entire life. He didn't like the idea that he spent an entire day in bed, it made him feel lazy. But he wouldn't dwell on it. He looked around the room to find something to distract himself.

He decided Pabu would do splendidly. "How'd he even get over here." He gestured to the little creature bobbing around the room.

"Oh, Asami brought him," Bolin nonchalantly said. Mako wasn't fooled by his tone. The blush that crept up to his cheeks betrayed his brother's crush on the young rich girl that Korra had inexplicably made friends with. He smiled. Well, at least his brother got to be happy out of this whole mess.

"Really? What did she say?" Mako said, a teasing note entering his voice.

Bolin shrugged, the blush had vanished. "Well she punched me in the arm and then threw Pabu at me and said when you woke up I was to do the same to you because it's our fault for letting Korra get hurt." And then his brother looked over at him and slugged him. His brother had a heavier build than he did. His punches hurt.

Mako glared at him and was about to use the last little bit of his strength to punch him when there was a small knock on the door. The brothers looked up and saw the airbender's wife Peema enter with her son and younger daughter. "Hello," she said. She sounded exhausted, but happy. The little kids were carrying bowls of soup and at their mother's orders placed them on the ground.

"Now can we go see Korra?" the girl asked.

"Go," her mother muttered. All pretenses of being obedient, calm children were dropped as they raced out of the room on little balls of wind.

Peema sighed as she watched her children race out of the room and cringed as she listened to their collective collateral damage. She then directed her attention to the boys and slowly sat down in front of them.

They weren't sure what to make of the current situation. They didn't know if they were supposed to talk first, or anything. So for the first few moments it was awkward. Then Peema looked at them and said, "I would like to personally thank you boys for helping Korra—"

"Oh it was nothing," Bolin interrupted. "She's our friend." Mako could've slapped his brother for being so rude. Luckily for them Peema didn't seem to mind.

"Well," she beamed, "I would like to say thanks anyway. She's part of this family and I have a hard time remembering she's not actually my daughter." She grasped their hands. The boys were unaccustomed to such motherly love and slightly recoiled. But it was such a warm thing that soon they gripped her hands back. "I want you two boys to know that if you ever need a place to stay, our home is open."

She stayed for a while longer and talked to them about themselves. It was nice. But she said she had to go check on the havoc her children were causing and, with Bolin's help, stood up and left.

Before she left she turned to them and said, "Korra's awake now. She's a bit woozy, but that nice Asami girl is with her. If you would like, you may see her tomorrow." And then she went.

The boys looked at each other. Bolin gave his brother a sly smile. "Now if we accidentally wandered into her room while looking for a bathroom, could anyone blame us?"

Mako used the wall and slowly clambered to his feet. "No one at all," he said with an equal devilish smile.


	3. Chapter 3

They had been surrounded by city noises their whole lives; to be somewhere where it was so quiet was disconcerting. Everything seemed so much louder here. Each step sounded like an explosion as they made their way down the hall. They kept expecting someone to pop up behind them and usher them off to bed.

They had a hazy idea where Korra's room was, but they really didn't know. With all the noise they thought they were making, how slowly they had to walk, and the fact they were basically lost, Mako was amazed that they had even gotten this far. They sauntered on for a while before they found it.

The door was slightly cracked open and he could hear Korra and Asami talking, or as they would probably say 'whispering.' Neither of them had the slightest clue what whispering was. The brothers inched forward, each telling themselves that no, they were not snooping and that they were in fact going to go straight in and not wait outside like creeps. But when they reached the door they did just that. Mako was closer; he had had a mild fight with Bolin to get the spot.

"They're _fine, _Korra," Asami said with a small laugh. "Honestly, you should be more concerned about yourself."

"I told you, what happened was normal. That's what the Avatar does, goes all glowy and stuff." Korra protested.

"And do they also sleep for a day afterwards?" Asami countered.

"That… that I do not know." Korra muttered.

"Well, then I'm going to assume you're not fine."

Korra sighed. There was silence for a minute, then Korra spoke again. "How are Bolin and Mako?" Mako inched closer to the door; he didn't want to miss anything, although he couldn't really tell why this part interested him so much, but it did.

Asami sighed, "Bolin was… fine. At least he was walking. But, Korra, he looked so bad…" there was a really sad note in her voice. Mako looked over at his brother to find him grinning like an idiot. He mouthed, "She's worried about me." With that he started to inch backwards and head back to their room.

Mako grinned at his brother's excitement. He assumed he was going back to the room so that when Asami left and told them goodbye, she would see him in a weakened state. He had to admit for someone who never really dated anyone, he had some good moves. As his brother slips from his sight he turns his attention back to the conversation inside.

They were finishing talking about Bolin. He smiled as he caught the teasing note in Korra's tone as she told Asami that if she was sooo worried, then she should go and check on him.

"I would hit you if you weren't so beat up," Asami grumpily retorted. Korra started one of her deep-bellied laughs, but then stopped midway and began to cough. Mako almost bust into the door, but being so weak, he had barely risen from the ground when she stopped.

"I _knew _you weren't fine," Asami said. There was a creak in the floorboards as she moved to go and get the Healer.

Korra stopped her. "Wait… I'm fine now."

"No, you are not!"

There was silence for a minute and Mako pondered what he would say to Asami when she strode out of Korra's bedroom. But he didn't have to worry about it because Korra got her to stay with the question, "Will you at least tell me how Mako is?"

He listened as Asami slumped back onto the bed. "Mako is…" she paused, searching for words that wouldn't make Korra too concerned. "Mako will be okay with rest, the Healer said so."

Korra actually said something quietly. Mako wasn't sure what it was but it sounded a lot like, "My fault…"

Asami scooted on the bed and it creaked. He risked looking in and saw Asami holding Korra in her arms and rubbing her back, she was actually whispering as well, who would have known they were capable of quiet voices? He was more focused on how Korra looked than what they were saying.

She was so beat up, even in the dim light he could see how bruised she was and the white bandages bore a stark contrast to her dark skin. He felt the protective instinct he felt whenever he saw his brother hurt rise, how _dare _someone hurt her.

Eventually Asami pulled back and he saw that Korra's face was lined with tears. She looked up at Asami. "Thank you," she says, her voice almost at its normal level, although it sounded weaker than he had ever heard it before.

Korra leaned back on her bed and he figured she must've fallen asleep because Asami slowly started walking towards the door. He tried to get up and around the corner before she saw him, but he was too slow. He smiled up at her awkwardly and tried to come up with a semi-plausible excuse that would get him out of an extraordinarily awkward situation.

She didn't say a word; she just looked at him and then extended her arm to him. He grasped it and she hauled him to his feet. They stood in an awkward silence. Well, stood only applied to Asami, Mako leaned on the wall. He tried not to collapse.

Asami had an expressionless face. He started to explain why he was even there, but as it turned out, years of living off the streets really had ruined his ability to lie. She surprised him by beginning to laugh.

"You are too awkward for words sometimes." He stiffened as much as he could in his condition. He wanted to retort but she was already walking away. "Go and sit with her, I'm gonna go find that stupid Healer who said she was fine."

Mako didn't need telling twice. He slipped into the darkened room and gradually made his way over to the chair by Korra's bed. He plopped down painfully and grimaced. He tried to take his mind off the pain, but Korra's room was surprisingly as plain as his own. He finally decided that Korra herself would have to do for a distraction.

He looked at her and grinned. Well, at least his distraction was pretty.


	4. Chapter 4

Mako drifted in and out of sleep as he 'stood guard' over Korra. He was vaguely aware that the Healer had come back in and so had Asami. He thought that he saw Pema come in, although he wasn't sure.

He had never been this hurt, ever. He ached from every part of his body. He would've gladly have stayed asleep for days on his bed if he could. But he couldn't get himself to make the short trip back to his room to his bed. For some reason, he felt that he should stay there by Korra. She, unlike him, hadn't woken up once since Asami had been in her room. Somewhere in the back of his hazy mind, he recognized this as a bad thing.

It was a whole other day before he fully woke up. He hadn't moved from his spot by Korra's bed. He looked around and saw that there was a Healer moving over to him. He allowed her to press her hand on his back. He had never really liked the Healers in Republic City. There was a certain snobbery aura that they always gave off and they rarely ever helped those who couldn't afford them. But he was so sore that he decided to put his prejudice aside until he could move again.

The Healer was quickly done with him, apparently most his wounds were superficial. She spent a lot longer hovering over Korra. Mako watched intensely as she moved her hands to various places on the Avatar's body. She finally pulled away. There wasn't that big of a difference. "I'll be back in a few hours. Try and get some water down her throat," the woman wearily barked.

Mako watched as the woman strode out of the room. He realized that for a Healer to be this exhausted, Korra's injuries must be very, very deep. He moved over to the bed and hesitantly put a hand on her arm. There was no reaction. His heart sped up as he started to panic that she would never wake up. Of course, that was silly, Korra was the Avatar, and it would take more than that fight to bring her down. At least he thought, his knowledge of the Avatar was a bit sketchy due to the fact he had never cared much about it before he met her.

And so, because he had nothing else really to do and hadn't the slightest clue about how he was going to get her to wake up, he waited. And waited. And waited.

Hours later, his patience was rewarded by a slight movement of her head and a flutter of the eyes. He moved as quickly as his body would allow to kneel by the head of her bed. Her head slowly turned to look at him, a small smile broke out on her lips. "Hey, you're not dead."

He let out a small chuckle at that. "Obviously."

"Oh, shut up," she said. Then she slowly drifted back to sleep. He was a bit worried about the fact that she had only been awake long enough to insult him, but he was comforted by the fact that she still had the ability to wake up.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't even know what this fic is doing anymore. I love every one of you that is reading this ramble. **

The Healers had told him that it would probably be weeks until Korra woke up. He didn't know if she had heard this while she was unconscious and took it as a personal challenge or if the Healers were just idiots like Asami kept saying they were. Either way, Korra was up and walking in less than a week, despite everyone's insistence that she stay in bed because she needed to heal. She ignored them, despite the fact she was obviously in pain.

Tenzin had gathered her friends one night and told them that they needed to find a way to keep her in her room so that her injuries could actually begin to properly heal while the waited for, to use Tenzin's words, a competent Healer. So they, and the airbending family, had started taking shifts.

Usually the teenagers would team up with each other or with one of the kids. It took a lot of effort to keep her in one place; Mako wondered how the White Lotus had even managed to keep her in the compound for as long as they did. One person would have to keep up a constant stream of gossip or news while the other sat near her, ready to 'accidently' poke her in an injured area and remind her that, yes, she was hurt. Usually that's how it happened. But today was different.

Bolin had finally made his move on Asami… well he finally made a successful move, and the two were on their first date. Pema and Tenzin were off with the kids somewhere, the island had been buzzing for days about the arrival of the Healer that was coming soon. She was supposed to come today and the whole family wanted to be there to greet her. He wasn't sure why. He never really picked up on news until it was thrown into his face in a blatant manner. All he knew was that these factors had left him and Korra alone. In a room. Together. Alone.  
>He wasn't entirely sure how he felt towards the young woman anymore. He thought it was just family love, like he had for his brother. But then he had come in one time when Asami was helping her change bandages and he saw more of Korra than he had ever thought he would. And while she hadn't been embarrassed in the least and couldn't understand why he had had to leave the island after that and avoid it for a few days, he was forced to admit that his feelings were definitely more than brotherly. But one feeling towards her remained constant, from the moment he met her to that moment: annoyance.<p>

When he had first met her, he had thought she was just another one of his brother's crazy fangirls and he was annoyed with her. And now, months later, she was still annoying him, although her goal was to simply annoy him out of the room so she could hobble away and sneak some time on the training grounds. He stood (or rather sat) his ground, deflecting her rather personal questions back at her while she skillfully waved them off.

"But there's gotta be _somebody _you think is pretty," she said in an irritating teasing voice. She was on her stomach in what she considered comfy clothes, which to his great embarrassment were her underclothes. The intricate back-flips his stomach was doing were added to the reasons why he no longer classified her in the family love area of his brain.

"Nope," he said, "But I bet there's somebody you do." He tried to keep his replies short. He wasn't too skilled in keeping small talk going when it regarded anything other than his brother, probending, or the weather.

She flips over onto her back and props herself on her shoulders. "You can bet there is!" she brightly chirps.

His attention somehow zeroed in on her more than it already was. "And who might that be?" He was sure she was joking around, but any little tidbit on her emotions was going to help him classify his own towards her. He tried to keep his emotions hidden, but the extra playfulness the crept into her voice made him think that she might have caught on to one.

"Well, obviously, it's _you_, Pretty Boy."

He lets out a small snort of laughter. "That one's new."

"Yeah, I'm still working on it. Mark my words, I will find the perfect name for you, just you watch me."

Mako carefully filed away the fact that, even if she was just teasing, she thought he was pretty (he'd work on if that was insult or not later). He then returned his attention to Korra. She was sitting up now, facing him with a devilish smile on her face. "Okay, now it's your turn."

"Wait, for what?"

"To tell me who you think is pretty." She smiled in an annoyingly adorable way and frowned when he didn't answer. "It's either answering this or you are just going to have to leave the premises," she sweetly piped. He rolled his eyes. He could easily reach out and tap her on her shoulder and let her fall down onto the bed in pain, reminding her that she needed to stay down.

He could've easily done that, he didn't know what possessed him to simply reply, "I think you're very pretty." He was a bit embarrassed, but was more impressed with himself than anything else. He had not only gotten her to be quiet and stop fidgeting, he had neatly figured out part of his feeling towards her. Yes, he thought to himself, I find you pretty, deal with it.

He was drawn back out of his thoughts by Korra whispering (again, she astonished him with this power he did not know she possessed) his name. There was something in the way that she said, "Mako," that made him pay attention.

He was about to answer when in burst Tenzin and a very old and weathered woman. "Oh, Korra, what mess have you gotten into now?" she chuckles.

"Master Katara!" she screeched in joy. She tried moving too quickly and fell back on the bed in pain. Mako held her hand as she tried to squeeze away the pain. Katara moved over and started to heal her.

Mako recognized that whatever moment was about to happen had been stopped. So he backed out of the room with a silent goodbye to Korra and headed back to the ferry.


	6. Chapter 6

A week later, Korra was almost better. She could almost walk without limping and run without pain. But she still needed watching and someone to keep her from hurting herself. Mako would often find himself on the night shift, when the hyper airbending children were asleep and wouldn't come bursting into Korra's room every minute or so. Asami and Bolin often went on dates at night and Pema was keeping Tenzin busy with baby things. If Mako didn't know any better, he would think that he was being left alone with Korra at night on purpose.

The only person who would ever come in while he was on watch was Master Katara. She would come in for a few minutes at night and check up on them, making sure that nothing bad had happened. Usually Korra was asleep, so all Master Katara had to do was tell him to call her if she suddenly took a turn for the worse. With that she would exit, leaving him alone with his thoughts, Naga most nights, and a sleeping Korra.

He noticed a lot of things about her while he slept. He felt like a bit of creep when he noticed that he was watching her, but he figured that as he was supposed to be keeping watch over her, it was fine, especially since he didn't have anything else to do. He wasn't the greatest reader. He could read, but he'd be damned if he ever did it for fun. So he wound up watching her sleeping, always alert for someone coming down the hall or for Korra waking up. He may know he had good reasons for being a creep, but he really didn't want to explain to anyone else why he was watching the sleeping girls so intently.

One of the first things he noticed was how quiet she was. He figured that, being the loud and outspoken girl that she was in the day, that at night her snores would rattle the rooftops. But she didn't make a sound. She was so quiet. She didn't even move that much in her sleep. She was just still. For someone who had always been around snorers (his parents had both been, Bolin was definitely one, and he was told that he was too), it was a bit disconcerting. The first night he had guarded her he had an overwhelming desire to wake her up because she was so quiet. But as Master Katara had come in soon after that thought and he then remembered how much Korra hated being woken up, he had let her lie.

The second thing he noticed was that she didn't use a lot of blankets. He was aware that she was from the South Pole and all… but he couldn't figure out how she wasn't cold at all. He was freezing in her room, and she was barely using a sheet for warmth. As a firebender, he was aware that it was harder to be cold than others, but seriously, this was ridiculous. Her body had to have accustomed by now to the climate, she had to feel the cold like they all did.

The third thing was that Naga didn't sleep much when Korra was sleeping. He found that strangely touching and a bit annoying. He thought it was brilliant that she had this pet that was so loyal to her… but at the same time, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Naga did not think he was capable of protecting Korra.

And that was ridiculous. Because he was perfectly capable… he was more than capable of protecting her, he was willing to. Even without these shifts he would probably be over here, keeping an eye on things for her.

This led to the fourth thing. He found that he was starting to really want her. He had already classified his feelings as being definitely more than family love a long time ago. But his feelings were more than just wanting her… he wanted to be hers and for her to kiss him and hug him and…

He let his thoughts trail off and stared at the sleeping girl basking in the moonlight streaming through her window. He was deeply annoyed with himself. He had already had his hands full with Bolin getting in trouble, now he had to somehow protect a girl who didn't want, and to be honest, didn't really need all that much protection. Why couldn't he have just fallen in love with a nice florist?

He stops in his train of thought as he finally realized what his feelings were. They were love. He was in love with the Avatar of all people! He started to panic. He wanted to get up and leave, but he had to stay. Someone would chew him out for hours if he left.

He sat there, trying to understand when this had happened. He would've stayed in the same position for hours, simply trying to figure everything out, if Master Katara hadn't come in. She did her usual routine of checking on Korra and then asking him if anything had happened while she was sleeping. He said no and she started to wander out of the room.

But tonight wasn't entirely like other nights. Before she left he called out to her, "Master Katara?"

"I'm sorry, I do not answer to that name from those who were not my students."

Mako gathered himself and drew a deep breath, "Gran-Gran?" He was still deeply uncomfortable about calling a woman he met a weeks ago any variant of 'grandmother.'

She came back in with a grin, "Yes, Mako?"

"When you… when you met Avatar Aang… did you know you were going to marry him?"

Katara blinked a few times in confusion, and then she let out a long peal of laughter. "Oh, no, oh, no, no, no. It was a long time before I even considered him in that light… almost a year actually."

Mako nodded and noted this. He looked up and saw Katara grinning devilishly. "Why do you want to know?" she sweetly inquired.

Mako was flustered. "Oh, well, you know, I was just… wondering… because… of reasons."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "Right, reasons. Well, I guess that's as good as an answer as I'm going to get." She began to move away slowly.

"Wait, Ma—Gran Gran!"

Katara slithered back over, the grin still covering her face. "Yeees?" she asked slowly.

"How do you handle the Avatar?"

Katara sighed, the grin slipping off. She sat on the edge of Korra's bed, Korra did not wake up (he was convinced she could sleep through a circus). "Well, I can't rightly tell you."

Mako groaned quietly. Katara smiled. "Aang was a different person than Korra. He hated to fight. Seriously, getting him to fight in the war against Fire Lord Ozai took us so long. He was a calm boy and he knew more heartache than anyone should ever know." She paused and they both looked at Korra. "Korra couldn't be more his opposite. She's—"

"Violent, impulsive, loud, spoiled…" he interrupted.

Katara laughed quietly, "Well, yes. Those would describe her, wouldn't they?" They were silent for a moment. "But sometimes I do sense Aang when she's around. She wants to help so badly, and that's a drive I feel Aang had. And she's so loyal, like my husband." There was another pause. "I like to think those are traits all the Avatars had. Throughout my readings and travels, I've heard of different Avatars being described as different things, but never once have I heard them called unhelpful or disloyal."

Mako piped up after the last comment. "It's so weird sometimes, to think that she's the epicenter of balance in the world and that she's just one of a long line of Avatars."

"It's less odd to think of her as the bringer of balance to the world than Aang was. The first week we met, we went penguin sledding." She smiled at the memory. "And it is strange to think that she's had so many come before her and that she's part of some grand spirit…"

Mako and Katara talked for a while more about the Avatar in general and Korra. Then the sun began to rise and Katara left. She pat him on the head and told him that to love the Avatar was so dangerous, but oh so worth it and then was gone, leaving him alone once more with an overprotective polar bear dog and a still Avatar.

He looked outside and wondered when the lovebirds were going to show up and usher him out for their turn. For once he didn't really feel like going.

"Mako," came a raspy whisper from the bed.

"Yeah Korra?" he asked. He really hoped that she had just barely woken up. There wasn't a response though. He looked down and saw that she was still asleep. A small smile stole onto his lips as he realized that she had spoken in her sleep. The quiet sleeper had broken her silence to utter his name.


	7. Chapter 7

"Korra! You need to slow down!" Mako yelled trying to catch up with her. She had literally been given the all clear for her health an hour before and now she was running as fast as she could towards the bay.

She laughed loudly and looked back. "No way! I haven't swum in weeks, it is unnatural!" Then she somehow went faster and giggled as stunned air acolytes gaped as she raced past. Mako began to spring. How the hell was she still faster than he was? He hardly had a scar from the encounter, and there she was, still bruised, with scars littering her back and legs, dashing by like as if it was nothing. He tied to keep up, just to prove that he could, but she far out distanced him.

She finally reached the side of the island and jumped. He shouted in alarm. Yes, he had seen her do this dozens of times before, and she had been perfectly fine, but that was before he had figured out what she meant to him. He ran towards the cliff, trying to catch her before she left entirely. But she was gone, and, he realized so was he.

He hadn't quite stopped running in time. He found himself tumbling through the air, trying to figure out what had just happened. Right before he registered that he was going to probably die a terrible death by hitting the water, it surged up to meet him, cushioning his fall and allowing him to sink into the water slowly.

He tried to open his eyes to see what exactly happened, but the water stung his eyes and they remained tightly shut. He wondered if he had been saved only to drown. He wasn't exactly a strong swimmer. But before he could contemplate this thought, he found a hand touching his and a suspicious lack of wet around him. He opened his eyes cautiously, partly because they still stung and partly because he was convinced water was going to rush into them.

But he found none of those things. Instead he found himself in a bubble with Korra. She was grinning like an idiot.

"Now, did you mean to fall in after me or are you just a klutz?" she teased. He scowled. There was no answering this without her laughing her head off. So he decided to go with the one that would make her laugh the least.

"I wanted to follow you," he mumbled annoyed under his breath. He waited for her deep laughter to pop the small bubble that they were in, allowing the bay's water to crash back over them. But it never came. He looked at her. She was focusing hard on moving the bubble to a small crack in the bottom of the island. He wondered what she was planning on doing.

They barely fit in, the bubble shrunk considerably and they ended up remarkably close. Mako hoped she couldn't see his blush in the dim light of the cave. The crack slowly expanded and so did the bubble. He scooted away as fast as he could, and then immediately regretted it. He hoped she didn't take too much offense to that. If there had been a rock nearby, he would've smacked his head on it. Why was he so bad with her?

She didn't seem to notice, she was so intent on moving this bubble. Mako briefly wondered if she was for some reason angry with him and was simply taking him somewhere she could beat him without anyone interfering. He then shook the idea off, Korra may be a bit violent, but she was fair, in her way. He started looking around the dark walls and noticed there was a faint glow coming off of them. It started to brighten the further they went. The glow was eerie and gave the place a dream-like quality. He wondered if he was actually in a dream.

Finally they reached a place where the water actually seemed to shallow… and then the bubble burst. At first Mako panicked, until he realized that he could stand and still breathe. He hoped Korra hadn't seen the freak out. He hoped the dim light emanating from the wall helped disguise the emotions that were so plainly showing on his face.

"Come over here," she called to him. She reached out and grabbed his arm and yanked him towards a small little bank in the grotto. The light was slightly brighter due to the glowing algae growing in denser clusters there. She pulled him down to sit by her.

She began to talk. "Mako, I just needed to say… that… I'm glad… you were able to stop me."

Mako, at first, had no clue what she was even talking about. Then he was dimly aware that she was examining one of her scars in the soft light and he realized that she was talking about that night. That night she went into the Avatar state. He fumbled for words. Eventually he came out with, "You needed me."

He could've kicked himself. Who said that? His embarrassment abated when she replied with a soft, "I do."

She didn't say anything after that for a while. "I'm glad you're okay now," he said, not wanting her to stay silent. It stilled scared him that she could be so quiet. He needed her to be loud in order to know that she was actually okay.

She stopped tracing her new found scars and beamed at him. For a crazy moment he thought the grotto itself brightened under her smile. Then she started talking, well, prattling more like, but at least he knew she was okay.

While they sat there, discussing random things about their world, he realized that all he had to do to touch her was put out an arm and wrap it around her and hold her close, but he didn't dare. There was a very good chance she would take it as an attack and they'd end up sparring. And he didn't really fany fighting her somewhere where there was so much water. So they just sat there. After a while they fell silent again. He was nervous. It wasn't like the other silences, the ones where he was afraid she was dead because she was quiet. There was something in the air. He sat there trying to figure out what it was.

Korra was the one to break the silence… in a way. She muttered his name. It was so quiet that he thought he had imagined it. He turned to look at her and she leaned forward and kissed him. He didn't lose any time in kissing her back.


End file.
